Ottawa beaches open for swimming more often this season

Ottawa currently boasts the lowest number of no-swim advisories due to E. coli since 2017, public heath data has revealed.

As of Aug. 15, five of Ottawa's beaches Britannia, Mooney's Bay, Westboro, Petrie Island River and Petrie Island Bay have seenthe fewestno-swim advisories issued by Ottawa Public Health (OPH) compared to the same timeframe in 2017 and 2018.

No-swim advisories are most commonly issued when bacteria levels exceed federal guidelines for swimming, which is morethan 200 E. coli per 100 mlof water when averaged across five samples.

The city's beaches have been slapped with 30 such advisories so far this summer, compared to 37 at this point in the season in 2018, and 86 in 2017.

With beaches closing Aug. 25,the 2019 season is on track to have the most open beachdays since2015.

"If we look at year over year, we have about 80 per cent of the time that swimming is permitted at the beaches, and this year so far we have swimming permitted 88 per cent of the time," said Martha Robinson, a program officer with OPH's health hazard response unit.

Robinson attributes the trendto the weather.

"We've had fewer heavy rainfall events this summer. There's been lots of short bursts and sometimes very local rainfalls, but not all of those rainfall events have impacted areas around our public beaches," she said.

Rain can carry extra pollutants, which contribute to higher levels of bacteria in the water. A common example is bird feces.

"If there's a local source of pollution, like a lot of Canada geese at a beach for instance, or a lot of gulls, their feces are going to wash into the swimming area and impact the water quality," Robinson said.

Out of all five beaches, Britannia and Westboro tied for the mostno-swim advisories, while Mooney's Bay had the fewest.

One reason Britannia Beach has experiencedhigher numbers this year isthisspring's flooding.

"The City of Ottawa was unable to put up some of the overhead wiring that is a deterrent to birds," Robinson explained, adding that Britannia usually has better water quality.

Spring flooding is also why the PetrieIsland beaches have seenfeweradvisories.

This year, they were closed for the first two weeks of the season.

What else keeps bacteria levels down?

Along with Britannia beach,Mooney's Bay beach is equipped withoverhead wires that keep birds away. Mooney's Bay also has a pump that keeps water flowing faster through the swimming area, Robinson said.

More recently,the City of Ottawa has been working to improve how it captures and treats stormwater.

The combined sewage-storage tunnel at Kent Street and Chamberlain Avenuebegan construction in 2016 and is expected to operate by 2020.

Robinson said the tunnel will affect beaches downstream of the downtown core, meaning only the Petrie Island beaches will benefit.

Safe swimming tips

Robinson cautioned that beach water testing results "can only provide a snapshot of the previous day's water quality." She warned that many bodies of water people swim in aren't tested by the city, such aslakes at family cottages.

That means it's not always easy to tell if you might be exposed to E. coli, which can lead to an infection with symptoms including nausea,headache, fever, stomach cramps and diarrhea. It can take up to 10 days after exposure for symptoms to appear.

Here's what Robinson recommends if you're not sure whether you'll encounter high levels of the bacteria:

• Don't enter the water if you have an open wound.
• Make sure childrengo to the bathroom before going swimming to avoid accidents in the water. Change and dispose of diapers away from bodies of water that people will swim in.
• Avoid taking in water by mouth and submerging your face and ears.
• Rinse with clean water after a swim and be sure to towel off following a dip.
• Consider postponing swimming after heavy rainor a period of high wind, which can introduce pollutants to surface water.